The NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Committee announced Sunday the field of nine teams for the 2012 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship. This is the inaugural championship for Division III men's volleyball.

Six conferences were awarded automatic qualification for the championship. No teams were selected from Pool B, which consists of independent schools and schools that are members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. The final three berths were reserved for Pool C, which consists of schools from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion and any remaining Pool B teams.
The men's volleyball committee also announced the first-round site will be in New York and hosted by Baruch.

First-round competition will be Sunday, April 21, at Baruch. Competition at the championship site will be April 27-29 at Blake Arena and hosted by Springfield.

This is the first year for a separate Division III men's volleyball championship. Previously, Division III schools participated in the Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championship, which was formed in 1997. While the NCAA sponsors a national collegiate championship for men's volleyball, programs from all three divisions competed for just four berths. With the addition of the Division III championship, only Divisions I and II will now be eligible to compete in the National Collegiate Championship. To see full article click here

UC Santa Cruz (17-6) continues postseason play as the Banana Slugs received the CVC's automatic bid to the first NCAA Division III Championship. They will face Rivier College (26-8) on Friday, April 27 at 5:30 p.m. at Springfield College's Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass. Follow the UCSC Banana Slugs in the first NCAA Division III Championships online.